After finishing my last round of books, (one of which was 'Ilium' by Dan Simmons, the most enjoyable science fiction book I've read in a while) I picked up a few more to read. I like to read several books at once, not only because my obsessive attention to things swings wildly about, but also because even the most disparate books can sometimes profoundly enhance each other in strange ways.
Brave New World & Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley
A History of Western Philosophy b
I stopped by the local liquor store to see if I might find some Chateau Jiahu, to no avail. Not all was lost, since they did have some Raison D'Etre. I really enjoy adventurous brews like this, especially when one spirituous coppery glass can make me all warm and fuzzy.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,
Vangelis is the first electronic music that I ever remember hearing. Needless to say, its made a huge impact on my musical tastes. Strap on your full size headphones and enjoy!
Word has it, from a devout Christian in my family, that something bad will happen in 2007 and that anyone who is not Christian and does not support George Bush will die. Just thought you'd all like to know... better repent and vote for a neocon
http://www.fln.vcu.edu/struwwel/struwwel.html
I read this 19th century picture book (with these exact illustrations, but a different translation) when I was young, like my mother did and her parents did. What a trip...
This is quite a bit different from the last post.
This is for all those who shared an upbringing similar to mine. I'm posting it mainly because this is the best (most intense) performance of this song that I've seen.
Hey God...
It's Orwell again. I can think of a few here who might appreciate this.
http://www.george-orwell.org/Politics_and_...Language/0.html
It makes me think of Common Sense.
Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."
-- Jack Handy
If you ever reach total enlightenment while drinking beer, I bet it makes beer
Where to start? I haven't been terribly active here lately, though I do check in roughly once a day. Interest in specifically Roman things has waned a bit an I find that I have less to contribute than normal, if that is possible I'm inescapably trapped in fervent book reading for the moment, to the point that any moment when I cannot read (any time that I'm driving) I'm engrossed in podcasts of academic lectures.
I've put a link to some of these in the block to the right. I'm currently lis
http://www.banksy.co.uk/
I just looked through the whole site at one sitting, and thought that some people here might enjoy some of it. Actually, the thing that I found most interesting wasn't any of the imagery, but one of the email responses:
Spoken like a 'true believer.' I might even be able to cut the irony with a knife.
I usually do not watch much television. The exeptions are a few shows on the Discovery/History/Science channels and the sitcom, 'The Office.' Recently, I was looking at the dazzling array of crap that I pay a monthly fee for, trying to somehow justify the cost other than just accepting that my wife watches more tv than I do. As I was skipping through, I stumbled upon a show that at first seemed documentary-ish but was actually some footage of three guys exploring miles of tunnels underneath Pari
Some interesting quotes from Mussolini that I've come across in my reading, judge for yourself how they apply to modern reality as you percieve it:
"Fascism ought to more properly be called corporatism since it is the merger of state and corporate power."
"Granted that the 19th century was the century of socialism, liberalism, democracy, this does not mean that the 20th century must also be the century of socialism, liberalism, democracy. Political doctrines pass; nations remain. We are
Has anyone read this? I just picked it up from the bookstore after wandering around for a good half hour. Supposedly aims to explain (and not just state obvious factors) why advanced civilization comes from the 'West', excluding Darwinian theories of genetic superiority, taking into account human pre-history.
Television and radio are very important tools for influencing perception. I don't how many times someone has told me how people with opposing political views are basically brainwashed by the particular media channels they adhere to. It seems to me that most people are fully aware of this aspect, but once they pick their alignment, it seems that the caution involved in gathering information from their chosen corporate media is mostly disarmed.
I understand how practical this is, because I've
At work today, my boss called a meeting of all the employees and surpised us with the news that the business was being shut down immediately. Apparently, the business had not been turning a profit for a while and it was time for him to cut the losses. Coincidentally, I had been half-heartedly job-seeking prior to this, with no result. Time to step up to the challenge, so I may be M.I.A. for a time as I find a new source of funding.
I've been writing my first real bottom-up web application for the past few weeks. When things start really falling into place and I can see real interactive results, I become obsessive to the point that everything else is nearly excluded from my thoughts - well, except for my obsession with the American history that was somehow left out of 12+ years of schooling.
Lately, I've constantly had dreams where, for whatever ultra-bizarre reason, I'm attempting to grasp some stupendously unfathomab
This really inspires confidence in my democratic efficacy.
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/20...oting_here.html
Anyways... since Gaius has mentioned Thomas Paine in a few discussions, I nabbed a book on clearance at B&N called 46 Pages by Scott Liell and so far I'm captivated. I'll give some more opinion once I'm finished - which may be a while since I'm usually reading about 4 books simultaneously and randomly for whatever reason that eludes me.
